Welcome to the Work In Progress Tag! I was tagged by the adoring and adorable Briana Herr, who was kind enough to inform our whole discord server about the tag! For this tag, I’m going to focus on my mostly complete WIP, rather than the ones I keep starting to avoid Writer’s Block. XD

Without further ado!

1) What is your working title?

“A Knight of Kuryle”, which is supposed to refer to the main character Dirk’s position once he has accepted his fate.

2) where did the idea come from?

I had a dream, a long, long time ago, about a sorcerer and a swordsman. The sorcerer was the enemy of the swordsman, but when the swordsman ran him through, he collapsed into the swordsman’s arms and breathed out, “You never could protect me, could you?”

I fell in love with the dynamic, and with the pair, and so that’s how Dirk and Yumil/Kier were born.

3) what Genre would your book fall into?

I like to think Epic fantasy, since it follows more than one character’s journey through a fantasy world. But it’s probably just straight fantasy. XD

4) what actors would you choose to play in your movie rendition?

I really don’t think about actors for my characters, if only because it’d be very difficult to choose them, and because by the time I choose them, they don’t look the way I need them to for the character. Plus, I don’t think there’s a man alive pretty enough to match my mental image of Yumil/Kier

5) what is the one sentence synopsis for your WIP?

For the first novel: When his village is destroyed by an unknown mage, Dirk goes looking for justice, and finds something so unexpected that it throws his worldview out of place.

For the series: An ancient grudge sets into motion the necessary components to end the world, or bring it back into balance, and it’s up to one family to choose which.

6) Will you self-publish or be represented by an agency?

I’m planning to self-publish, although I wouldn’t say no to an agency if they wanted to represent me.

7) how long did it take you to write your first draft?

About a month. I was doing nanowrimo and had nothing else to do but write, so I literally ended up writing 250k words and finished it. Then I had to cut it down into smaller books, and I still haven’t finished the first draft of the smaller book. XD

8) what other books would you compare this story too?

Probably a combination of the Inheritance Cycle, Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs, and Lord of the Rings. Sort of. Very, very loosely.

9) who or what inspired you to write this book?

When I first wrote the first draft, I was inspired by my then boyfriend, Wesley Pruett. As I went on to editing and eventually breaking up the story into smaller books, however, I found that my inspiration and help came from my mentor, Chris Votey. He’s been invaluable for helping me through all the crags and crannies of writing, and I wouldn’t have made it this far without him.

10) what else about your book that might pique readers interest?

Well, the main characters are almost all tumblr-worthy. Dirk is an asexual black man, and Yumil is a genderfluid homosexual. Their adoptive son, Jorgan, later in life goes on to be the savior of the world. So there’s that. XD

There you have it, my WIP, which I haven’t touched in several months. This blogpost, however, has rekindled my love for it, and I think I’ll be starting editing again. So thanks so much for sticking around and reading this! Post your information down below, and I’ll tag you in it, so that you can gush about your WIP too!

An oldie, but a goodie. Uninhabited Planet Survive is what would happen if you took Lord of the Flies, added girls, science fiction, and a whole new planet. I won’t spoil it for you, but the twist towards the end is absolutely amazing.

Why I recommend it to Writers: Because of the excellent way it portrays adolescent children, as well as the great twist towards the ending. It’ll teach you how to write a survival series very well.

I have been considering a change in genre. Although to be honest, I can’t help but feel like maybe I should write everything and anything. It makes me feel better to think that I can switch. However, the styles of writing and the rules of different genres requires consideration.

Such as with High Fantasy. Much is allowed, but you can’t do too much with it, or it becomes something else. Like Lord of the Rings. Change the horses to golems, and suddenly, it’s scifi, not fantasy. Okay, that was a bit of a stretch, but seriously, I worry about these things.

I’ve been considering the idea of taking my main characters from one of my books, and recreating them as characters in an urban fantasy environment, and while the story isn’t as… overarching, it seems like it would be fun to write. I’ve always liked urban fantasy. It’s always been a favorite of mine, the intertwining of things too unreal for reality into the every day lives of characters whom really have no purpose other than to live with our expectations.

But the thing about Urban Fantasy is, it can quickly become something annoying. I personally really hated some of Holly Black’s books, but her other books were amazing. And the only difference was the level of fantasy in her books. Then there are the novels that you really aren’t sure are urban fantasy at all. All sorts of writers do this, they tag it urban fantasy, but it’s not really all that… urban. Twilight, I suppose, counts. Not to open that can of worms again, however, as I rather loathe that entire series, after reading the first and half of the second books.

I wish this had a pathway, however. Something solid I could follow. I’m worried about failing, and having teens hate my work, and I’m also very worried about people thinking of me like the author of the Anita Blake series, who really jumped off the bandwagon. Ah well. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that I can write at all. I do love telling stories so, although I’m often afraid no one will want to read what I write. It’s difficult, judging what’s worth writing and what’s worth giving up.